Means and method for measuring temperatures



Nov. s, 1938. LLER 2,136,055

MEANS AND METHOD FOR MEASURING TEMPERATURES Filed NOV. 27, 1936 JOHN MILLER INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

UN H' SKATES PA'EE.

MEANS AND METHOD FOR MEASURING TElWPERATURES John Miller, New York, N. Y.

Application November 27, 1936, Serial No. 113,090

4 Claims. (Cl. 73359) This invention relates in general to means and what that temperature is they do not know. Atmethods for measuring temperatures based on the tempts have been made to regulate the temperathermo-couple principle, and in particular to ture of the primary heating devices by thermomeans and methods for measuring temperatures stats, but most thermostats are sluggish in their 5 of hair clamps, curling irons, and the like, as action, and where a primary heater heats a gang 5 applied in the hair dressing industry. of clamps or irons, there is no assurance that all In dressing hair to produce permanent waves, of these heat-transfer media have been raised waves, curls and ringlets, such as on the human to the same temperature, especially if these media head, the application of heat is a very essential e e placed 011 the p y heater not all at 0 step in the process. The temperature of. this the same time.

heat, on application to the hair, is very impor- As a rule the mercury thermometer, and thertant; that is, in order to insure the best results, mom Of a So in g are entirely t as judged by the uniformity, permanency, and slu h n re p n in o temperature n e texture of the finished job, there are certain to be of any u for these p p critical temperatures beyond or below which an I e e pt d t0 use Commercial DyrOmeterS 3'15 inferior quality of hair dressing results. The 0f t thermo-couple yp aS p at r inditemperatures of the heat applications range from cators of heat-transfer mediums, but found them 200 degrees Fahrenheit to 800 degrees Fahrena too l i h f r my n rp s. When an heit. Just what is the critical temperature dealuminum p, raised to 600 degrees F r npends among other things, in each particular heit was placed against the GXDOSGCI, welded tip case, upon the texture of the hair, th type of a thermo-couple, thegalvanometer would take of lotions and wrappers applied, and the kind and almOSt a minute before it pp Climbing t style of hair dressing desir d, scale of temperatures. In a minute interval the Heat may be supplied to the hair in on r more clamp loses considerable heat. In some cases I of several Ways: by the application of preheated have determined this 1055 to be as h as 50 irons, curling irons, or clamps which have been degrees-ea 1058 t Can not be ated in a heated in ovens, or over gas or electric stoves; commercial establishment. Besides, in that inby the application of irons, clamps, or other heat terval of time, the thermo-couple elements Will transfer devices containing electric heating eleabsorb t t0 a point Where Often y are merits within themselves, and the heat is genhigher in temperature than e Clamp Which S erated by an electric current while the devices subsequently to be measureds Condition are attached to the hair; or by exothermic chemleads to inaccuraciesical reactions. It is the general broad object of this inven- Heretofore, except in the case of exothermic tieh to provide a means and a method W i chemical reactions where the exothermic qualithe temperature of Objects c be determined ties may be definitely arranged by laboratory quickly and With relative accuracytests, there has been no dependable method or Another object Of this invention is to p vide device available which would indicate quickly a means for quickly ascertaining the temperaand with relative accuracy the temperature of tures of heat-transfer mediums.

40 a heat-transfer medium (as these clamps may It is still another object to provide a means and b C j b o its application to e hairmethod for accurately measuring and controlling P much has depended upon the judgment and temperatures in the application of heating desklu human 9 vices in the dressing of hair.

igfi f f gg 'g gz g ZZE E SE 'Z ES 5 One of the features of this invention lies in sensitive part of g (1y. used to be a the novel construction of a thermo-couple, and custom for an operator to apply liquid often 3118 means employed to close the electric ClI'Clllt sputum, to the heat-transfer medium and to erem' @FFEQE judge the temperature by the sizzle. scorching Another feature of the invention resides in of paper as an indicator of temperature is a the method of equippmg an oblect, whose 150 common practice, Many hair dressers use a perature is to be measured, with means to coclock in connection with the primary heating Operate h a thermo-eleetric-collple, that device; they have learned from experience that its temperature may be quickly measured. within a certain time the heat-transfer medium Additional objects and features of the invenwill be raised to the required temperature, altho tion will become apparent from the following '55 specifications and the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a commercial form of galvanometer and thermo-couple combination, with the thermo-couple elements exposed and spaced apart, and a metallic clamp across said elements to close the circuit.

Fig. 2 is a galvanometer housing with leads to a portable thermo-couple.

Fig. 3 is a hair curling iron equipped for cooperation with spaced thermo-couple elements.

It is well known that when two metallic substances are joined together at one end and the free ends of each are connected to a terminal of a galvanometer so that a closed electric circuit contains, then if the temperature of the joined ends is raised, an electro-motive-force is generated which is proportional to the diiference in temperature between the joined and free ends of the metallic materials. This is the principle of the thermo-couple as applied to, and in, pyrometry.

I have found that when the two metallic substances forming the thermo-couple are not joined, but the thing whose temperature is to be measured is placed across the two said elements to close the circuit, a galvanometer in series in the circuit will have a quicker response to the electromotive-force generated.

Referring to Fig. 1: The housing I contains a galvanometer (not shown) which operates the indicator hand 2 in the dial face 3. Within the housing I, one terminal of the galvanometer is connected to the metallic rod l, which in this case may be of iron, and the other terminal of the galvanometer is connected to the metallic rod 5, which in this case may be of constantan. Rods 3 and 5 protrude thru the housing l thru the insulating ferrules 6, 6, to form the metallic elements of the thermo-couple. It will be noted that rods #3 and 5 are not in direct contact with each other. This is the construction of the new type of pyrometer embodying my invention.

Now in order to measure the temperature of a preheated hair curling clamp made of metal it is only necessary to place the clamp across the rods i and 5 to close the electric circuit and read the temperature on the calibrated dial 3 as indicated by the hand 2.

'Altho the drawing shows the thermo-couple and galvanometer as an independently complete unit, commercially I intend to incorporate it into a clamp heating cabinet; that is, the galvanometer and its dial face will be built into the cabinet and the couple elements will protrude therefrom so that the primary heaters of the hair curling devices, the primary heater controls, and my temperature measuring device may be had as one compact unit. It will be possible also to have the spaced couple-elements rigidly fixed to the heating cabinet, but to have the galvanometer and its dial positioned somewhere else so that its E. M. F. temperature reactions may be visible to the person Whose hair is being dressed at the time. I believe such an arrangement will make excellent advertising to create customer good will.

In Fig. 1, 20 is a hair curler clamp with oppositely positioned heat-transfer elements I, I made of aluminum. The spring 8 urges the elements I, I together. The clamp 28 is placed across the rods 4 and 5 so that elements I, 'l exert pressure on them. It will be found that pressure is desirable for better electrical contact. In fact with I aluminum clamps here described, the response trical contact.

of the galvanometer can be considered for all practical purposes instantaneous.

In Fig. 2 is shown a portable type of my pyrometer in which the metallic rods and 5 are carried by a handle 9, shown in cross-section, of non-conducting material, and the leads Id and i i from the rods to the galvanometer terminals in housing I pass thru the channel !2 in the said handle.

It will be noticed that the ends I3 and NZ of the rods i and 5 are pointed so that they may be impressed into a' metallic body for better elec- With this portable arrangement it is possible to measure the temperatures of things in inaccessable places (provided of course, that the thing to be measured is a conductor of electricity). It should be noticed also that the rods 3 and 5 are not parallel to each other but diverge from their setting. This makes it possible to wedge metallic objects between them for better electrical contacts.

It will be found that my pyrometer gives very quick and substantially accurate results in indicating the temperatures of the softer metals, such as lead, zinc, and aluminum. However, with the harder metals, unless certain precautions are taken, the effectiveness of my construction and method over that of the conventional type of thermo-couple in which the thermo-couple elements are welded together, decreases. In Fig. 3 is indicated a method of overcoming this loss in efficiency.

In Figure 3 is shown a curling iron. In each steel tong l5 and it, close to the pivot point ii is embedded a bead of soft metal it. To measure the temperature of the curling iron itis merely necessary to place it between rods 1 and 5 of my pyrometer in such a manner that upon expanding the tongs i5 and it the beads 98 come into contact with, and close the circuit of, the thermocouple. The iron becomes a necessary part of the circuit.

The device in Fig. 3 points the way to measure, with my pyrometer, the temperatures of non-conducting or high-resistance substances: A strip of soft metal iii is attached to the iron in Fig. 3. The metal strip, naturally, will take on the same temperature as its host. The temperature of the host will be indicated by the pyrometer by pressing rods 5 and 5 against the metal strip l9 so that the electric circuit will be closed.

Still another variation on the method of temperature measurement explained in conjunction with Fig. 3 and in the preceding paragraph is as follows: In Fig. 3 is shown a hair curling device whose tongs i5 and it are coated with a soft metallic paint, such as aluminum. To measure the temperature of the tongs, place the coated surface in contact across the rods i and 5 of the thermo-couple shown in Fig. 1.

The construction of my temperature indicating device and themethods of its application will be readily understood from the foregoing description, and it wil be seen that I have provided a simple, inexpensive and efficient means for carrying out the objects of my invention. Furthermore, while I have particularly described the elements best adapted to perform the functions set forth, especially as applied to the hairdressing industry, it is obvious that their application is not limited to that industry, and that various changes in form, proportion, and in minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the principles of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A method of testing the temperature of a. solid object comprising: attaching an electricity conducting body to the object so that the said body takes on the temperature of its host; positioning the object across the separated electrodes of a thermo-couple so that the said body electrically connects the electrodes; and measuring the thermo-electric current generated.

2. A method of testing the temperature of a solid object comprising: attaching two metallic beads to the object; positioning the object across the separated electrodes of a thermo-couple, the said beads serving as contact points, and allowing the thermo-electric current generated to fiow thru the object to electrically connect the two electrodes; and measuring the thermo-electric current generated.

3. A method of testing the temperature of a solid object comprising: coating said object with a metallic veneer; positioning the object across the separated electrodes of a thermo-couple, the said veneer serving to electrically connect the said electrodes; and measuring the thermo-electric current generated.

4. An apparatus for measuring the temperature of hair treating devices and the like comprising: a housing forming a supporting base, spaced thermo-couple elements of a thermocouple projecting from said housing in position to be contacted by the heating devices, and current indicating means mounted within said housing and electrically connected with said elements; said housing ofiering sufiicient anchorage so as not to be readily displaced during the engagement of} said elements with the treating devices when the latter is applied thereto under pressure.

JOHN MILLER. 

